POLICE OFFERING FITNESS CHECK THIRD Edition

• Published in: The Boston globe
• Main Author: Robert Carroll, Robert Knox, Emily Sweeney, Carolyn Y. Johnson, Sandy Coleman, Susan Hagstrom, Paysha Stockton, and Peter Schworm
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston, Mass Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC 03.07.2005
• ISSN: 0743-1791

The Friends of Hollis Field Playground raised more than $5,000 at a recent Family Fun Day to be used toward the purchase and installation of a Sway Fun glider, a fully accessible swing that can accommodate two wheelchairs and several children at once. The need for a wheelchair-accessible piece of play equipment became more apparent when Owen Norton, the 2-year-old son of a member of the fund-raising committee, was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy. Currently there is no cure for this disease, and the child has to use a wheelchair. The committee has dubbed its current fund-raising phase the "Goin' for Owen" Sway Fun drive. Hundreds of families attended the June 18 fund-raiser at Hollis Playground. The money raised at Family Fun Day brings the total to approximately $31,000; the group needs $7,000 more to complete the project. Anyone interested in making a donation is asked to call Deb McMartin of the Friends at 781-848-9262. - Robert Knox The Marshfield Skate Park is well on its way to raising the $75,000 needed to make the park handicapped accessible by Sept. 1. Town Meeting allotted funds for the park in April, but skate park organizers are trying to raise the money with a live auction that was to culminate in a "great hot tub debate" yesterday. Town gadfly Bob Parkis was to square off against Town Moderator James Robinson in a five-person hot tub, filled with rubber duckies and set up in the middle of the skate park's amphitheater. Ed Perry of WATD radio was named the event moderator, and two observer seats were auctioned off for $299. Grace Alvey donated $500 for the privilege of standing right outside the hot tub. The auction, including the steamy debate, has raised at least $25,000 for the park, and local businessman Brian Curtis made a $20,000 donation. Already, one of the railings has been installed, and fund-raising chairman Roy Kirby said he hopes the skate park will not need to use any town funds to make it fully accessible. Information about the park or making a donation is available at www.marshfieldskatepark.org. - [Carolyn Y. Johnson] The Board of Selectmen recently reappointed incumbents to town committees, following its policy of reappointing current members if there are no new applicants for their seats. Among the reappointments, Roger Goguen, Leonard Bolton, Erich Scharath Jr., and Dorothea Kelley were returned to the town's Affordable Housing Committee. Selectman Richard Quintal was appointed to the Community Preservation Committee, which recommends funding projects from Community Preservation Act funds, and Selectman David Maliguti was appointed to the Capital Outlay Expenditure Committee, which recommends major projects for funding by Town Meeting each year. Sydney Nirenberg and Mary Rondeau were appointed to the Board of Health, and David Buckman, Diane Finn, and Joyce Stewart were appointed to the Visitor Services Board, which provides grants from hotel tax money to promote tourism in town. - Robert Knox